Lowe’s earnings drop in 2Q

Lowe’s Cos. Inc. posted net earnings of $747 million, or 64 cents per diluted share, in its second fiscal quarter ended Aug. 3, down from $830 million, which also equated to 64 cents per diluted share, a year earlier.

The home-improvement retailer’s sales in the latest quarter totaled $14.1 billion, down from $14.5 billion a year ago. Sales at stores in operation for at least a year declined 0.2 percent.

“Our results fell short of our overall expectations,” Lowe’s Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Niblock, says in a news release announcing the earnings results. “However, I have confidence in our strategy and in our employees, and while we recognize the significant magnitude of change that we’ve asked the organization to absorb as we transform our business, we fully understand that we must improve our level of execution.”